SLASHING HER WAY THROUGH DOZENS OF SOLDIERS WAS INVIGORATING. As the battle raged on, nothing was making Kaelyn feel more powerful than watching Thanos's army fall to its knees while she gave the battle everything she got. She laughed cruelly as a soldier tried to stab her through the chest, but the spear point hit her chest so hard it snapped in half and left not even a scratch on her. Watching the confusion on the creature's face as she in-turn replicated the move, except succeeding, was laughable. Watching Thanos's soldiers fall to the ground at her hand satisfied her in a way nothing else could. Maybe it was cruel, but these monsters had taken everything from her. Five years of her life gone because of the Titan. She had enough and she was going to take back everything stolen from her in any way she could. So, she fought tirelessly with her sisters and the love of her life beside her.

She watched with a sadistic grin as Pepper Potts sent Thanos to his knees during his attempt to chase down Danvers who had possession of the gauntlet. She couldn't see what happened as Thanos threw his weapon, all she felt was the explosion that resulted of it. Dull metal caught her eye as she saw the gauntlet thrown aside. With fear in her eyes and her heart, she saw Tony go for it at the same time Thanos did.

"Peter, Peter," she called out, her eyes searching for the boy. When she saw him, she spoke, "We have to help him, we have to."

Others seemed to have the same thought as Thor, with both of his powerful weapons in hand, slammed down in front of the gauntlet and began fighting Thanos before he could get to it. She held back as Captain America joined and they were almost able to behead Thanos with Thor's axe. Almost.

Both man and God were thrown off of Thanos as the Titan grasped the gauntlet for the first time in the battle. Just as he was about to put it on, Danvers cut him off at the knees as he crumpled and they though. Peter held onto Kaelyn, but she couldn't tell if he was holding her back or if he was simply afraid he would lose her again. She wanted them to help, but her feet were frozen to the ground. She was invincible, but not fearless.

Danvers brought Thanos to his knees without breaking a sweat and Kaelyn wished that could be her. To be so strong, so graceful, and so utterly powerful was something she could achieve only in her dreams. However, even with that power, Thanos pulled one of the stones into his other hand and used its power to knock Danvers out of his way. Kaelyn gasped as the woman went flying, her hand shaking as it covered her masked mouth out of fear. Thanos had the stones and no one could stop him right now. She wanted to jump in, but what could she do when those more powerful than her had already been defeated?

Kaelyn blinked and when she looked upon the battle again, Tony was ripping the gauntlet off of Thanos's hand as best he could. However, with one punch, Tony was knocked to the ground.

"I am... inevitable," Thanos gasped as he looked at the gauntlet on his hand in awe, preparing the snap. Kaelyn froze, she wasn't ready to die. Not again.

He snapped. Her eyes slammed shut, preparing for the worst. However, nothing happened. Kaelyn opened her eyes.

Tony knelt on the ground, the stones shining as they were locked into his suit. With a brazen look on his face, she knew what he was about to do. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized in paralyzing thought: He wasn't strong enough to use the stones. Not if he wanted to survive. Peter's grip on her tightened.

With a painful breath, Tony looked Thanos in the eye and said, "And I am... Iron Man."

He snapped. Everything flashed white for a moment. When her vision cleared, Kaelyn realized what was happening. Everything in Thanos's army, from the ships to the creatures, was turning to dust, in the same manner, she had five years ago. The girl watched in awe, taking a deep breath of relief for the first time in a long time. They had won, but at what cost?

Finally, with one last sigh, Thanos himself became dust.

As soon as the dust cleared, Kaelyn and Peter ran over to Tony as he fell to his knees. Removing her mask, the girl's tears flowed freely as she knew. They all knew. Everyone surrounded Tony, their faces grim. Every single soldier that had fought alongside them on that battlefield took a knee. James Rhodes was the first to approach Tony, holding his bloodied face in one hand.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter asked gently, but his voice was already broken. Kaelyn let go of him, letting him kneel in front of Tony, "Hey! Mr. Stark, can you hear me? It's Peter. Hey. We won, Mr. Stark. We won, Mr. Stark. We won! You did it, sir, you did it. I'm sorry, Tony."

Peter fell to the side as Pepper knelt in front of Tony. Rushing over to Peter's side, Kaelyn didn't speak a word as he fell into her arms. She simply cried alongside him as they watched Pepper speak to Tony.

Kaelyn had never had anyone that felt like a father. She had Caden, but he was never a father to her, just a brother. Her own father, the real one, she barely remembered. The one she had now, whoever he had become, was not the kind man she remembered. In over a year, Tony Stark had been more of a father to her than she had in a lifetime and she would always, always be grateful for that. However, she wasn't ready to face the rest of her life without him. He had done so much for her, even now, but she never had a chance to pay him back. Now she never would.

"Hey," Pepper spoke gently.

"Hey, Pep," Tony's voice was beyond weak and it broke Kaelyn's heart hearing him speak. His hand reached to cover hers as it laid on his chest.

"Friday?" the woman asked.

The voice from Tony's suit responded instantly, "Life functions critical."

Tony smiled weakly, Pepper met it with a soft smile of her own, "Tony? Look at me. We're gonna be okay. You can rest now.

The light from his chest went black. They never really won. Tony Stark was dead.

i literally started tearing up writing this chapter fuck endgame fuck the russos fuck the mcu i hate it here